Dodgers Willing To Listen On Yasiel Puig

The Dodgers have informed rival clubs that they would be willing to move outfielder Yasiel Puig “in the right deal,” Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. Thus far, however, Los Angeles has received more trade inquiries on their higher-end prospects.

Puig was reportedly informed by the team recently that he would not be dealt. At the time, the report (from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com) indicated that the team was not engaged in any trade talks regarding the somewhat controversial, but incredibly talented, 24-year-old.

All said, it still seems unlikely that anything will come together on Puig. He’s not playing up to his prior levels, but still owns a productive .253/.327/.423 slash over 217 plate appearances.

With a meager $4.5MM salary this year and three more years of control remaining for just $19.5MM, Puig’s contract has long looked like one of the game’s best bargains. (He can opt into arbitration once he reaches three years of service, but that would only potentially impact the last two years of the contract, since he entered the season with 1.119 years of MLB service, and any additional raises would obviously reflect his performance.) But his less-than-inspiring play this year and a variety of off-field issues have raised some questions about his true value.

For the Dodgers, parting with a high-end young asset would seem to be a stretch. But the team does have a wide variety of options in the outfield, with Andre Ethier playing at a high level, Joc Pederson emerging as a young star, Carl Crawford finally returning to action, and several strong platoon candidates under control.

Los Angeles figures to make a move for starting pitching, and has been said to be involved in a variety of scenarios. The team is apparently unwilling to part with its best prospects — infielder Corey Seager and pitcher Julio Urias being the two blue-chip pieces — but would surely have to give up young talent to add a quality, controllable arm. Rental arms are also under consideration, of course, and it remains to be seen how the team will proceed.

Carrasco was a Phillies top pick they traded years back.. That “Promising” talent, has been taking a long time to develop. He’s overdue on the benefit of the doubt. Its getting make or break time for him, or he is what he is.

Sure, his ERA is over 4 but his FIP and xFIP are under 3. Carrasco has a k/9 over 10 and a BB/9 under 2 with a solid GB% of 49.8. There is plenty to suggest that he is a lot better than his ERA would indicate over the first half. To say he has never done anything amazing ignores that he had a 2.55 ERA, backed by the metrics, in 134 innings last year, he is a really underrated pitcher and exactly the type of starter teams should be trying to acquire.

That’s all great and it’s true that he is the type of pitcher you should look to acquire but for a team with WS aspirations to trade away one of their best hitters (don’t quote me his slash line cos I know what it is and I actually don’t care, he’s better than what he has shown this year) just flat out doesn’t make sense. If the Dodgers trade for him it should be for guys off the farm.

the problems have been the defense behind Carrasco and a lot of the Indians starters. The stats that tell the true story are his xFIP which is 7th in all of baseball, 21st in fWAR, 6th in SIERA. These are the stats that an analytical based front office looks at, not ERA. The Indians have 7 statues playing defense.

Not really. Both are 4+ WAR players, and the Dodgers are dealing from a strength to fix up a weakness.
The fact that Shane Victorino has been worth more WAR in 20 less games this year speaks volumes to Puig’s struggles.
Team seem to be paying for current production, so trading Puig now would be selling low.

I think a realistic possibility could be Lee and Puig for Hamels with Philly eating some of Hamels salary it would be a good deal for both sides especially considering the Dodgers would be dealing from one of their biggest strengths.

4 years* Hes arb eligible when his current 7 year deal is up. And who would say if they can compete in 3 years or not? Most of their talent (Crawford, Altherr, Nola, Franco, Giles, Eflin, Quinn, etc) should be up by the end on next year.

Puig is young and he would give them a young cost controlled outfielder who they could either extend (they could definitely afford it) or flip for prospects in a few years if their not contending. If they had Franco and Puig in the middle of their lineup there’s no telling what they could do. If your the Phillies why wouldn’t you take a shot on three years of Puig and try to build around him?

Puig has the potential to be a top 5 position player in all of baseball and has shown flashes of that over the last few years. There’s no way they move him for anything less than an absolute stud and a controllable one at that

The Kid doesn’t have the mentality like a Mike Trout, Has the God Given Physical tools but is a Milton Bradley all over again,Which is Immature Child , Who is about as popular with Teammates as Hemorrhoids!

I wonder if the Dodgers would be willing to do Tehran and prospect in the top 15-20 range for Puig. The Dodgers get a young pitcher in Tehran who could be your number 3 starts. The Braves get Pukg and that will fix the Braves outfield problem.

Except you’re comparing value, right? Puig puts up a similar value, in terms of WAR, at a little over a quarter of the value in money. Hamels is a little cheaper than most similar pitchers, but Puig is absurdly cheaper than similar position players–and phenomenally more “affordable.” Few teams can take on Hamels’ contract. Every team can take on Puig’s.

And that’s if the Philies didn’t eat any of the contract. I feel that Hamels has more value mainly because of his accolades and track record, as well as the fact that he is a good clubhouse guy and a hard worker. As well as his good stats.

Puig career OPS is 865. If he qualified he would be in the top 17 active in all of baseball. He has a the best arm by far in the league and plays above average D. He is controlled for 4 more years at a very cheap price. He also has as much upside as anyone who has ever played the game. The trades you are suggesting are so terrible. You guys clearly no nothing about baseball

Everyone was ripping on me in the off season when i was saying andre either is still an amazing outfielder despite his offensive woes last season. You give this guy regular at bats, this is what he produces. Year in, year out. And no, im not a dodger fan.

My point was a lot of saber metric trades is seeing value where other teams/people don’t….you can make those trades with lesser prospects…Puig contract is well below market value and is somewhat proven as above average…I would use him as a chip to obtain a player whose value is not hidden in numbers….(ie: would I trade the #3 pick in the NBA draft for. Bunch of role players or use it on an impact player…the 3rd pick has an intrinsic value to it)

Yep, not a fan of the down-vote as is. It almost feels like every comment is a popularity contest. At least with Disqus, if someone didn’t like what you said, they would have to comment and explain why, which feels a lot more constructive.

I really can’t see the ‘Stros being interested in Puig. They seem to have a certain perference with their hitters, and Puig doesn’t seem to fit that mentality. Plus, they have a young core, and I feel they would want a media grabber like Yasiel as far away from them as possible, regardless of the talent.

it was just a random trade idea i thought of i really didnt think the astros would have a need for puig. i just think it would be fun to see what jon could do with the right coaching. he looks like a guy who could hit for decent power.

I think the Phils would do Puig and a prospect for Hamels. Not a blue chip prospect, though. Puig is something of a risk…just gotta wonder who on the Phils could sit him down and line him out when necessary. But you don’t want that to become a habit. If he can’t learn to be a pro on LA, with all the solid pieces they have, where could he?

Can’t learn to be a pro. Hmmm. Forgetting for a moment that he’s all of 24? Those of us who actually watch Dodger games have seen him grow up a lot in the last year or so. You won’t hear many Dodger fans worrying about his ability to play like a pro.

Yeah, I don’t understand it, but really, everyone’s in play. Mike Trout for everyone you want on the Blue Jays, including minor leaguers? Okay. Chris Sale for pick any number of guys in the Royals system? No sweat. You get the right offer, you tell your player he’s traded. I wouldn’t want to be that player, but it’s kinda part of the game, right?

I always have to laugh when I see when I see rumors about a team willing to part with a player “for the right deal.” As if they’d be willing to let anyone go for the wrong deal. The Dodgers would be nuts to let Puig go for anything less than another RH power bat for the outfield to replace him, and a solid SP. Otherwise, they are going backwards.

Fans will reference any news headline possible, to justify ridiculous trade proposals. Don’t believe the narrative about Puig being “a clubhouse cancer”, there really hasn’t been anything to back up those claims beside some TMZ-type theories.

Do believe, Puig was a 4.1 fWAR player at age 22. A 5.3 fWAR player at 23. Most guys are just trying to break into the Majors at his age. Even 190 AB’s into a down year, he’s got an above average bat (108 OPS+) with typical solid D.

Young, productive track record, great contract – beat writers looking for a break shouldn’t devalue that. A busted prospect and a few lottery tickets won’t get Puig’s talent in return.

Best trade partner is the Braves who are willing to deal Julio Teheran. Julio is on a 6 year deal for about $5 mil per year. Former all-star and #1 Prospect. Braves can trade Julio Teheran, Jonny Gomes and Chris Johnson for Yasiel Puig and Alex Guerrero (Dodgers buy out the opt-out option). Braves can substitute Alex Wood or Shelby Miller for Teheran if Dodgers prefer. Braves can also trade Teheran and Alex Wood if the Dodgers throw in Austin Barnes. In the end the Dodgers would have Julio Teheran and Alex Wood to add to Greinke and Kershaw and lose nothing but backups.

Puig is nothing but a backup now? Wow, he got demoted in a hurry. The Dodgers can’t buy out Guerrero’s option, because it isn’t an option, it’s an opt-out. Guerrero said a couple of days ago that he’d be willing to waive his opt-out for the right situation, which to his mind, means a regular starting job and also more money.

Puig played 53 games of 100 this year, – backup! That is less than Pederson, Ethier, Guerrero and VanSlyke and only 5 more than Hernandez – Backup, 5th man! Guerrero has an option to opt-out of his future years under contract if traded, that can be bought out, thus, a buyout of the opt-out. The “opt” in opt-out is abbreviation for “option”. I see no catholic school for you.

O’s send – Chen, Hunter, Matusz, and Wright
Dodgers – Puig
Dodgers get rotation and pen help for this year and an interesting prospect that is just about ml ready as either a 4th starter or a solid pen piece. O’s get the corner outfielder they have been looking for.